Using LinkedIn For SEO

As you navigate the complex world of social media, no doubt you have come across profiles that look like this:

This person's profile has the bare minimum of information, and is essentially a wasted effort on this guy's part. So why is it important to optimize your LinkedIn Profile?

Your profile can be an excellent source of SEO friendly links because: - LinkedIn has great authority in Google - Your website links can be given unique anchor text with the dofollow attribute - Your LinkedIn profile can have highly relevant content relative to the websites you own

The 3 main things that every linked in profile should have are:

1. A professional/personal picture of yourself.

Don't upload an image of your dog/cat/fish/hamster/car/computer/World of Warcraft, or any other beloved items. Be as transparent about who you are as you can. Sites like Twitter and others that don't have a professional mindset don't matter as much, but always have an image of something. If the site is geared toward professionals, err on the side of a professional picture.

2. As much information about yourself as you feel comfortable.

At the very least, you should have a link to your personal or business website/blog. Unfortunately, most people don't link to their own websites, and even those that do, don't do it correctly. I'll show you how below. Also, you should write some really good compelling info about your current position, to make sure people know what it is you do, even though you might not be looking for a job, this helps put relevant content on your page. You can even give away things, like travel incentives vouchers or something.

3. A unique profile url for yourself if the option is available.

This makes it easy for people to link to your profile, or find it again if they forget exactly how they found you. And if you put your name in your profile url, that makes it a little more SEO friendly for searches related to your name.

So, here are the steps to creating unique anchor text links to your own websites on your linkedin profile:

1. Click on the 'edit my profile' link under the 'Profile' nav link on the left sidebar after you have logged in

2. Scroll down to the 'Websites' section and click on the 'edit' button

3. In the drop down box to the right of 'Websites:' select 'Other'. You'll then be given an extra box to put in your keyword title, and then you can fill in your website URL in the very next box. You have the ability to add up to 3 sites, so take advantage of this.

Here's what mine looks like currently:

adam torkildson linkedin

The Modern SEO Benefits

A lot of articles suggest using LinkedIn for SEO purposes revolves around using keywords and anchortext throughout a profile to get a little more search engine love. With all the most recent search engine updates, though, this kind of thinking can only get you in trouble.

There are several ways you can still use LinkedIn to improve your online marketing campaigns. First, you can start using LinkedIn Groups to build your business. By getting involved with other real people, you can set your business up as a major part of the industry. This can lead to other SEO benefits, though, because this is where you can start building relationships – the kind of relationships that can lead to other content marketing opportunities or sales referrals.